frequently asked questions

pfh stands for per finished hour of audio — the way audiobooks and long-form narration are priced. You pay only for the length of the final, polished audio file, not the hours spent in the booth. Most professional narrators need two to three hours of studio time to produce one finished hour of audio.

It varies by market — and sometimes by era. The German market, for example, only recently shifted to per-finished-hour pricing after years of paying narrators per CD. In the US, UK, and across EU markets, pfh is now the standard, but the actual rates reflect each market's own history and industry norms. For a detailed breakdown by country and project type, try the International VO Quote Calculator.

The biggest difference is what's built into the rate. Union contracts (SAG-AFTRA in the US, Equity in the UK) include mandatory contributions toward health insurance and pension for their members — that's what P&H means on an invoice. They also define how usage rights and residuals are structured. Non-union rates are negotiable and don't include benefits, though experienced non-union talent often prices in the same range. Both sides of the industry have published benchmarks that help buyers and voice actors set fair expectations.

BSF stands for Basic Session Fee — the rate a voice actor charges for the recording session itself, separate from how the audio gets used. Both EU and US markets charge for usage, but the structure looks different. In EU markets, usage rights are calculated as a formal percentage of the BSF based on media type, territory, and duration. In the US, the same concept is called a session fee, and usage or buyouts are negotiated on top — sometimes as a separate line item, sometimes bundled into a flat project rate. Same idea, different vocabulary, different math.

Each market has its own published rate guides maintained by industry organizations. In Germany it's the VDS Gagenkompass. Switzerland follows the VPS/ASP Tarifliste. The UK references Equity and Gravy for the Brain rate cards. In the US, non-union talent uses the GVAA Rate Guide while union work follows SAG-AFTRA contracts. French and Belgian markets have their own established structures as well. Rates vary from market to market because each one developed its pricing independently — shaped by broadcast history, territory size, and union landscape. But what every market pays for is the same thing: professional, broadcast-quality performance from a treated booth with industry-standard equipment. The number on the invoice is different. The work isn't.